As fuel economy becomes paramount in the transportation industry, efforts have increased to achieve higher internal combustion (IC) engine efficiencies and to seek alternative powertrains. CCVs are well known and can be arranged to provide coolant flow control for temperature management of various powertrain components including IC engines, transmissions and various components of hybrid electric and fuel cell vehicles.
A portion of CCVs are electro-mechanical in design, incorporating an electrical actuator assembly that interfaces with a mechanical valve body to provide a controlled flow of coolant for a selected powertrain component or system. Depending on its design, the mechanical valve body can be linearly actuated or rotary actuated by an actuator, often times in the form of an electric motor or solenoid. When used in an IC engine, the electric motor can be controlled by an electronic controller in the form of an engine control unit (ECU). The valve body can be configured with one or more fluid openings that control an amount of coolant flow to or from one or more inlets or outlets arranged on an outer housing of the coolant control valve. Electro-mechanical CCVs can offer continuously variable positions of the valve body to achieve various coolant flow rates. Like many other electronic controlled engine components, a fail-safe design feature is required that facilitates safe operation of the engine in the event of an electrical power loss. For this reason, some electro-mechanical CCV designs incorporate a wax pellet thermostat that enables coolant flow from the IC engine to a radiator, preventing an engine overheat condition in the event of a power loss. However, such a thermostat requires valuable packaging space within an already envelope space-challenged CCV.
The demand on vehicular electrical systems has grown substantially in recent times, not only due to the advancement of engine, entertainment, comfort, and safety systems, but also due to the advent of start-stop systems. Such growth has prompted a need for alternative power sources that can reduce demands on electrical systems while also providing a back-up source for power.
Thermoelectric devices or generators are known and can be used to generate electrical power from a temperature difference applied to two sides of a semiconductor material. Thermoelectric devices offer a reliable and simple power generation solution because they convert thermal energy into electricity without requiring moving components.